


Peter and the Prom

by incandescentchampagneproblems



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Gen, High School, Prom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29478051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/incandescentchampagneproblems/pseuds/incandescentchampagneproblems
Summary: All Peter wanted was the perfect prom with MJ...but not without a little help from the Avengers. (AU)
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 1
Kudos: 44





	Peter and the Prom

**Author's Note:**

> Hi All! This is clearly set in an AU where Tony is still alive because...well, Peter at prom and Tony not there? Ain't gonna happen. Anyway, as always, would love to hear y'alls thoughts so feel free to leave ideas or criqitues in the comments below!

Peter tugged on his bowtie nervously with his free hand, his eyes roaming the giant ballroom carefully. It was times like these he really wished he had some sort of fancy glasses--y’know, the kind Mr. Stark wears that are voice-activated? He thought that he’d seen an advertisement for some on Amazon--not that he actually  _ shopped _ on Amazon. A few years ago, Mr. Stark and Jeff Bezos had gotten into some sort of copyright argument. Heated words were exchanged and  _ perhaps _ a rogue Iron Man suit might have damaged Bezos’ impressive car collection...but let’s just say, Peter wasn’t really allowed to purchase anything from the retailer giant anymore.

Whatever, Peter believed in shopping locally anyway. His favorite bodega wasn’t going to sustain itself. 

“Houston to Space Commando,” A familiar voice and a gentle (well, gentle for her) squeeze broke through Peter’s thoughts. “You good?” 

His eyes darted to MJ, a small smirk slipped across her lips as he came back to reality. She really did have the best smile--one he’d happily stare at for days. A sentiment that was true--but not for her ears. She would have laughed him out of the room if he’d admitted such a cheesy romantic comment. Well, right after she’d slightly blush and kiss him on his cheek. Perhaps it was worth it…

“Oh, yeah, just fine. Fine and dandy. Fit as a fiddle, as they say--” Peter rambled nervously, eyes once again searching the room fervently. 

“Who you looking for, eight eyes?” She teased, her own perceptiveness shining through. A few weeks ago, MJ had figured out that her boyfriend was  _ also _ the infamous Spiderman. To her--it was obvious. The sneaking out late, weird bruises, oddly sharp reflexes for a guy who  _ never _ went to the gym...the evidence was clear. Apparently, though--only to  _ her _ . The rest of the Midtown School of Science and Technology student body was not as smart as they claimed to be it seemed. Fine by her, she kind of liked being the only one to have figured it out. The ultimate inside joke between her and Peter. Well, her, Peter and--

“Oh my god, there you guys are!” Ned sighed heavily, a little out of breath from his jog across the room. He’d done a pretty remarkable job of dodging every poorly dancing couple at this Prom, but that didn’t come without some physical exertion. 

“Yes, hi, here we are,” Peter addressed Ned briefly, before shaking his head at MJ. “No--I’m not looking for anyone, M; just wondering where the drin--”

“Well, doesn’t he just look  _ dashing _ ,” Suddenly, Peter’s stomach dropped and he froze in place. MJ’s eyebrows furrowed as he’d dropped her hand, but as quick as they had knitted together, they became raised in slight surprise. 

“Y’know, I told him to go with Armani--none of this rent-a-tux crap. Armani would have been far better suited for an occasion like that.”

“Tony, would you give the kid a break? It’s not like he can just call them up on the phone and custom order one. Not everyone lives like you do, pal.” Steve noted sternly.

Tony rolled his eyes, removing his glasses and crossing his arms lazily. “Could’ve just called. S’not like we haven’t--” He stopped suddenly, realizing there were two others with Peter he had not met--and therefore did not trust. “Uh, hello.”

MJ and Ned waved slowly, their shock still plastered clearly across their face. “Hi.” they both said in unison, a little monotonously at that. 

Peter took a breath and turned around, a little less starstruck than his date and best friend. “I told you all not to come! How the heck am I supposed to explain six Avengers just randomly showing up to my senior prom?”

“Show up?” Thor bellowed, enough to make some look in their direction. He smiled brightly and returned to Peter. “We didn’t just show up, we’re  _ chaperoning _ .” He pointed to his chest proudly, where a red and white name tag graced his jacket lapel reading “Thor Odinson, Chaperone”. 

Peter groaned loudly. This was  _ not _ happening. 

“Hiya Pete--you didn’t think we’d let you do your first prom alone, did ya?” Tony smirked, nudging him slightly before turning his attention back to Ned and MJ. “So, let me guess--best friend and girlfriend? Woowie, have we heard a  _ lot _ about you--especially  _ you _ .” He nodded in MJ’s direction. “Peter just can’t shut--”

“ _ Alright! _ ” Peter interrupted frantically, shaking his head. “MJ, this is Mr. Stark--he’s the uh, head of my….internship.”

“You mean the Avengers.” She replied flatly, giving Peter a pointed look.  _ Damn it, they’d promised he wouldn’t cover this up again _ . He nodded silently and Steve looked horrified. 

“She  _ knows _ ?” He asked, looking between Peter and MJ multiple times. “And also, he’s not the  _ head _ of the Avengers…”

“Well, you try keeping secrets from your girlfriend when she spends most of her free time analyzing people constantly. It’s not exactly great for a relationship,” Peter replied gruffly. 

MJ beamed. “Y’all really could have done a better job teaching him though--he used all the tried and true plays. Sneaking out at night, skipping school field trips, mysteriously disappearing right before spiderman arrived. Like come  _ on _ , anyone with half a brain could have figured that out. Who taught your Superhero 101 course?”

Steve furrowed his brows, a tinge of pink erupting over his cheeks.

“See, what did I tell you Rogers! A little less ‘civil duty’ monologuing and a little more ‘save your ass’ demonstration!” Steve grumbled and rolled his eyes, but clearly Tony (and MJ) had struck a chord. 

“Alright, let’s stop embarrassing him now. Don’t you all remember your first prom?” A woman stepped from behind Thor, and Peter immediately smiled wider. He’d only met Carol Danvers a few times--but she was his favorite by  _ far.  _ Just….don’t tell Tony. The last time he found out someone was above him as a favorite, Steve found Morgan sledding on his shield. 

“I never had a promenade,” Thor said wistfully, looking off into the distance. “On Asgard, we danced and drank after enormous battles. Did you all win something? Perhaps a game of foot-but-mostly-hand ball?”

The three high schoolers looked at the blonde god with confusion for a moment until Ned spoke up. “Uh, no that’s homecoming. This is just...dancing?” He offered, hoping that clarified things. 

“Well, seems a little luxurious just to stand around and dance without earning it, but carry on! I do love parties.” He lumbered off, in search of the nearest drink table to satisfy his thirst. 

“Peter, are you  _ friends _ with all these people?” MJ asked quietly--not quiet enough though. 

“I wouldn’t call us friends, per se.” Sam Wilson raised his brow as he looked at the two of them. “I don’t have the greatest track records with bug-like individuals.”

“ What he  _ really _ means is that he's gotten his ass handed to him  _ twice _ by them ” Bucky snickered in the background and Sam’s eyes narrowed. 

“Don’t act like you didn’t also end up flat on your back because of this pip squeak.” He spat, causing Bucky to square up. 

“Did you really kick their asses?” MJ whispered and Peter nodded proudly. 

“Yeah, in Berlin.” 

“You were in  _ Berlin _ ?” 

“First Stark retreat I went on. S’where I met a lot of these guys, actually. Though they weren’t as nice as they are now.” 

“Queens--just because she knows about you doesn’t mean she gets to know about all of us.” Steve reprimands slightly, before turning back to the unfolding fight between Sam and Bucky. “Seriously, how  _ old _ are you guys?” He grumbled. 

“Older than you!” Bucky replies with a wicked grin, before lunging at Sam. Sam simply rose gracefully in the air, watching him stumble around like a bumbling fool. 

“Metal arm ain’t got nothing on mechanical wings, huh?”

“Why I oughta…” Bucky shouted, waving his fist around. 

“Hey--guys--uh, could y’all not, maybe, do this right here---” Peter begged softly, but the men paid him no mind. 

“Why don’t you, since you think you’re tougher than my twice kicked ass?”

“Sam, language. And seriously, for one night could you not--” Steve shouted, but it was no use, the fighting had commenced. 

Peter looked around to find the other Avengers, to see if they could help. Thor, who had been standing by the punch bowl, was now flirting with….Peter’s  _ English _ teacher? And Stark was off exploring the venue, trying to see if there was any alcohol lying around he could snag. The only one left was Carol, who seemed deeply preoccupied by something. 

“Carol--er, Captain Danvers?” Peter asked, waving a hand in front of the blonde’s face. 

“Sorry Peter--I have to run. Some Kree just called about being dead in the water and I’ve gotta help them jump their spaceship.” In a flash of light, the woman was gone, leaving only a pile of paper decorations in her place. 

As Peter watched the chaos of prom crumble around him, he groaned and dropped his head in his hands. “Oh god, this was  _ not _ supposed to happen. Tonight was supposed to be perfect, MJ. You and I were supposed to have the perfect time--dancing or sitting and talking, whatever you wanted. It was supposed to be about you--and now it’s just about them. Again.” 

MJ rolled her eyes, lifting his head up to look at her. “Ok first of all, stop with the melodramatics Parker. We all know I could give a shit about Prom. I went because I wanted to be with  _ you _ . And I still am, right? So what if your friends are a little dysfunctional? You know me, I love chaos. This is the most fun I imagined ever  _ having _ at a prom. I get to see Avengers acting like children--who can say they’ve seen that.” MJ looked at Ned pointedly. “Not now, Leeds. Anyway, just, is it kind of awkward that they all just crashed our Senior Prom? Sure. But I don’t see anyone sulking around quite like you. And you know me, I love sulking--but now is not the time. We’ve still got some prime prom time left and would you look at that, all your chaperones are  _ distracted _ . Huh. Fancy that.” She winked, tugging his arm along toward the door. “What we really need is a jailbreak--coming Parker?”

Peter looked at the woman in front of him, taking in all of her--her simple black dress with a pair of chucks, her mischievous look of adventure and that alluring smile--and he was hooked. Since day one he had been and he constantly kicked himself for how dumb he’d been for letting himself go so long without asking her out. He wanted to be wherever she was--especially if that meant out of this tomfoolery of a prom. 

“Way ahead of you, babe.” He said, taking the lead and running out of the ballroom with her. In a few moments, they were flying through air--MJ holding on to Peter for dear life--before they landed on his favorite spot: the top of an old skyscraper. She knew the spot well and while she  _ hated  _ the way they got up here, there was something magical about being the only person to get this kind of view. 

“So, now that we’re finally alone--how would you like to celebrate prom?” He asked, wrapping his coat around her shoulders. Peter was about 75% sure she would shirk it right off--but she surprised him by holding it tighter to her. 

“Tell me a story?” She asked softly, learning against him as he played softly with his hair. This was a side of MJ that most people didn’t see--the soft, vulnerable side. There were few things in the world he cherished more than the fact she allowed him to see this side of her. 

“A story? Well, I mean I suppose I can come up with one of those.” He paused, taking a moment to think before he began.

“Once upon a time there lived a beautiful, sassy, smart woman who was very picky with the men she chose to date. Really the company she kept at all. She had very high standards, and not many could meet them. But one day, she met this silly nerd who had a thing for Star Wars and random knowledge and she….didn’t like him. But he liked her. Very much. Except he was awkward and shy and could figure out how to tell her. But little by little, she started to figure him out--even the things he didn’t want anyone to see. You see, this guy thought life was better being unknown. Bullies would ignore you, teachers would just let you slide by--being seen meant being known and being known came with consequences. Sometimes to those he loved most. But she didn’t seem to care about what he thought--she kept noticing him and noticing him until--he couldn’t help but  _ like _ that she saw him. And, after a few awkward attempts at flirting….and one really big secret reveal--he might just admit that he loves it. And her. But mostly her.”

There was a long, deafening silence and Peter thought that maybe he’d said the wrong thing. He’d always been too early, too eager in situations--and what if this was the same thing? He could’ve just messed up this whole thing with MJ by telling her he loved her….

And yet he  _ did _ love her. And knowing that without telling her seemed the definition of silly. So, he couldn’t bring himself to regret admitting that, even if the sentiment was not reciprocated because he meant it. Every word. 

“Peter?” Her voice broke the silence and he breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Yeah MJ?”

“That was the cheesiest story I’ve ever heard.” Peter laughed loudly, freely--if MJ could joke, all hope was not lost. 

“Well, y’know me--I like to  _ string _ people along with my jokes.” A short web flew through the air and MJ punched him softly. He laughed again. 

“Say another word and I’ll have to shut you up.” MJ threatened lamely and Peter just grinned.

“Another word.” 

A smirk appeared on MJ’s lips before placing them on his--soft but sweet, the kind of kiss that took its time. Which was fine by Peter--after all, there was no place he’d rather be. He snaked his arms around MJ and pulled her in closer, letting him melt into their kiss freely, easily, as if they were the only two people around. 

After a few moments, MJ broke the kiss, looking up at Peter slightly flushed. “I love you too, pip squeak.” She said softly, and he smiled back at her before kissing her again. 

Perhaps prom wasn’t a waste after all. 


End file.
